Just when Indians began reminiscing of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where the country came back empty handed, Telangana shuttler PV Sindhu decided to bring down the Chinese wall, defeating Wang Yihan in straight sets, 22-20, 21-19 to secure a semi-final berth in Rio. Now, standing in her way is Japanese opponent Nozomi Okuhara, against whom the 22-year-old has lost the last three times. However, if today's performance is anything to go by, past records don’t seem to be of much significance.
Speaking after the game Sindhu said, “Against someone like Wang, you can never let you guard down, one must specifically focus on long rallies which are her speciality. She likes tiring opponents out, but I had specifically practised for that. So I was in a good place, she pushed me till the very end and it was anybody's game. But I’m happy that our pre-match analysis came true. Fitness-wise I think it tested me to the core, she didn’t leave any shuttle.”
The other semi-final will be contested between Spain’s Carolina Marin and China’s Li Xuerui, which is being touted as the biggest game in the women’s singles event so far. Sindhu added, “As compared to previous times I’ve beaten her this is a different feeling, because this is the Olympics. We have a very equal fight whenever we play each other, but it's not something I plan out. But for some reason this feeling is different because it is Rio. This is one of the best moments of my life, but I can’t let my guard down. For many the goal is the medal, for me it’s to beat the best. If you beat the best, the medal will automatically come.”
Explaining how she came back in the first set, Sindhu specifically spoke about mental training and how winning the first set was the turning point. She said, “She was working specifically on putting me through longer rallies, that has a specific mental impact. But I think I trained well enough to countert that, after that it's all on your day. There were just two to three points difference, so it was all on that day and how it went.”
Sindhu is one win away from assuring India bronze, but she now faces her stiffest test against an arch nemesis. The semi-finals are scheduled to take place on August 18.
